Gaddam Sammaiah
A Telangana Chindu Yakshagana artist who has given thousands of performances and trained hundreds of young folk artists, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.
Gaddam Sammaiah is an actor, singer, writer and director of Chindu Yakshagana, a traditional folk theatre of Telangana. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Telangana [1].
On stage from 14
He was born on 1 January 1956 and learned the art from his parents, both noted performers [2]. From the age of 14 he played young roles such as Prahlada and Lohitasya, and from 25 took on leading parts including Harishchandra, Krishna, Arjuna and Ravana [2].
Thousands of shows
Between 1985 and 2011 Sammaiah gave more than 19,000 performances across the state for government public-awareness programmes on subjects such as literacy, environmental protection, family planning and AIDS awareness [2]. He has also performed on All India Radio [2].
Teaching
He founded an association of Chindu Yakshagana artists and, in 1991, his own youth arts centre, where he still teaches [2]. He has helped about 850 poor folk artists find work and recognition, and has trained 85 groups of young Chindu artists, about 1,275 performers in all [2].
His honours include the Telugu University’s Pratibha Puraskaram (1995) and Andhra Pradesh’s Kala Ratna award (2011) [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2024: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2024: citation for Gaddam Sammaiah — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 15 October 2026.
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